Life at Echo Valley Ranch

Oooops

2008-06-07T22:21:00.000-07:00

Oooops, looks like a breakdown in communication. This Blog has been moved to "Echo Valley Guests" since that is what we are really all about at our ranch - bears and all :)
Please see "Echo Valley Guests" for all future Kat Blogs - It is great to have Kat with us at EVR, among other things, Kat is a super blogger :)

Look for the Bare Necessities....

2008-05-27T09:31:00.001-07:00

If you go out in the woods today bring your bear spray, a whistle and don't forget your camera. This is the reason we always ask guests to take a dog or 2 with them on their walks. It's bear season folks and these bears are not out looking for a teddy bear's picnic.

Now as nice as these Black Bears are to look at...it's better to have a good zoom on your camera and keep your distance. If you do happen to encounter one and you're on foot, there are a few things to remember. Never run away from a bear or turn your back to him. Do not stalk or follow a bear either. Stay where you are, make lots of noise, talk to him so he realises you're human. Then you can slowly back away from the bear, remember not turning your back to him. Most bear encounters will end this way. Also, don't throw any food his way because you don't want a bear to think you are his food source.
As you can see from this picture, bears around here mainly eat plants and fish from the streams and rivers. Thanks to them our dandelion population is under control!

MOVED to Echo Valley Guests

2008-05-25T21:32:00.000-07:00

Kat, our super EVR Blogger, started a new Blog for EVR and has been doing a super job keeping it full of interesting and fun things that happen at Echo Valley Ranch & Spa. The new Blog is called "Echo Valley Guests", which is really what life revolves around at EVR, so, rather than keeping two separate Blogs about the same subject please see "Echo Valley Guests" for our news.

Teepees along the Fraser River

2008-05-03T09:34:00.000-07:00

Last week we were asked to help out a local neighbour put up some teepees....and the adventure begins. On the drive there we spotted quite a few animals, this vulture soared right by! We also saw some deer and goats.
Make a right turn out of the ranch and you reach Clinton...turn left and you end up here, along the Fraser River...tough choice with that view...isn't it.
So with Numchuck at the wheel, we reached th reserve in record time and began to work on the 2 teepees. There were many animals there too like horses, dogs and ...mice! One little mouse scurried up Numchai's leg...and eventually up his shirt but I managed this photo before.

The afternoon went by quickly and we all had fun. And off we went back to the ranch again. Hard to leave though as we look back at this breathtaking view... just gives us sometihng to look forward to for next time right!

Pool shark...or Dog?

2008-04-29T21:12:00.001-07:00

So here's an average night at the ranch. The day is done and it's time for some down time. What better way than with a game of pool. So check out the spectator on the right there. Yes, that's Jack, watching as Emma takes a shot.

For anyone who's been to Echo Valley before, this is quite normal, but for us girls who are all new employees to the ranch, it made our game even more fun. Watching Jack hoist himself up to watch the game and jump up and down along side the table to try and sneak a peak...it's just something you have to see to believe!

Over the River and Through the Woods...

2008-04-28T21:44:00.001-07:00

Hiking Guide Angela and myself (Kat), decided to take on the Rheinhardt trail to see in what shape it was in. On a beautiful day like this...how could we resist. So here we stop at the first lookout and water stop...what an amazing view.

And just so you can see the face behind the camera, decided to take a shot of yours truly for once, me with Angela in the back there.

And no hike would be complete without the company of a few dogs. So Bernie and Jojo toughed it out with us. Luckily there were a few little patches of hidden snow for them to get their cooling off too! We took our time with the trail and took approx. 3 hours. It was a nice end to a gorgeous day!

Signs of Spring

2008-04-21T15:30:00.000-07:00

The ice on the ponds have almost completely melted. So this little muskrat decided he'd be the first to test the waters this season.
Ducks and all kinds of other birds are beginning to make themselves noticed at the pond and on the roads everywhere.

These 2 frogs (and water flea) and getting ready for spring. So the animals verdict is...spring is just around the corner guys!

A Final Sprinkle of Snow

2008-04-10T08:24:00.000-07:00

The other day we received one last sprinkle of snow. So feeling inspired at 7am that morning, I made a couple of photos before the sun crept up over the horizon. The flakes just dusted the old farm instruments displayed in front of Dove Lodge.
And here you can see the sun creeping up behind the Lookout Lodge. As beautiful as the snow is, only a few hours later it had already evaporated into the air again.
But it wasn't gone before the dogs got to have their fun. For once it's not the puppies goofing around, but our big dogs took this chance to feel like pups themselves again! Elomo couldn't get enough snow in his mouth. Jojo and Bernie couldn't stop jumping and bouncing around.
And Bett and Anna were running all around chasing eachother in a fun game of snow tag!

Great Views from the ranch

2008-04-01T20:01:00.001-07:00

As Angela and myself returned from another hike we witnessed this beautiful view of Mt. Bowman with the Lookout Lodge in the foreground.

Working at Echo Valley

2008-04-01T19:46:00.000-07:00

On the left is our wonderful new hiking/fitness guide Angela accompanied by Wrangler Flint. The 2 of them, along with myself Kat, are checking out all the trails to make sure they're ready for guests. And lets not forget to mention all 7 dogs who lead the way on every hike for us!

Preparing the Horses for Another Season

2008-04-01T19:43:00.000-07:00

Angela our new hiking guide, brushes down Moonwalker. Time to get the horses out for some riding!

Willow stands waiting patiently by the stables. Bet he can't wait to go out for a ride.
Flint taking the horses over to the ring. Beside him is his dog Pocket...do wranglers always color co-ordinate their animals...?
Flint and Willow out in the ring getting ready for all the eager riders waiting to come out to Echo Valley this season.
Wrangler Julie (in front on Moonwalker) with Hiking Guide Angela (in back on Adonis).

Seven eggs!!

2008-03-31T22:53:00.000-07:00

Brian gave me an updated me on the number of Gyrfalcon eggs that have been laid so far -- SEVEN!

Wild life all around

2008-02-22T19:14:00.000-08:00

Today we took a drive down to the High Bar Indian Reserve in the Fraser canyon to see Tom and take another look at some horses we are figuring on buying. This location is 9 miles as the crow flies and it is quite common to see all sorts of wild life that many others have to go to great lengths to see. Today we got to see California Big Horn sheep as well as a Golden eagle - without a doubt we were observed by cougars, coyote, bob cat, as well as many other local inhabitants - perhaps next time we will see them too :)

Rising sun, setting moon

2008-02-22T19:07:00.000-08:00

Rising sun, setting moon
These two shots were taken within minutes of each other, to the east is are the signs of the rising sun and to the west the moon can be seen sinking down below the horizon. These photos are from yesterday, the day after the lunar eclipse.

Ice fishing derby

2008-02-16T16:52:00.000-08:00

A sold out fishing derby was held at Big Bar Lake today with over 200 participants trying their luck for the big prize. We chose not to drive out on the lake this time and instead visited with Bill and his wife who have a place at the end of the lake.
Big Bar Lake is one of the lakes that we take our guests to in the summer to try their hand at catching a Rainbow trout, trout weighing over 5 pounds are quite common.

Valentines Day at Echo Valley Ranch

2008-02-14T19:14:00.000-08:00

A very special Valentines Day for Nan and Norm this year, they booked the entire Echo Valley Ranch for the occasion and enjoyed the peace and solitude of the place. The meal was not too shabby iether, cheffed by Norm and Nan, moose steaks, onions & mushrooms, white asperagus tips, specially fried potatoe slices - wine was real special too, Torbreck, Borassa Valley 2002 Descendant - we drank the whole bottle followed by an excellent Port with our cheese.
What made the experience so special though, apart from Nan being so wonderful :), is the feeling you get from being in such a remote location. It is peaceful and you connect with nature in a more intimate way - hard to explain but it helps to tune you in to dimensions that are far more meaningful that what you can view on the CNN News; BBC too coming to that :).
When we go outside and wander arround under the stars for sure it becomes clear that nobody should worry about anything that may be whizzing around in ones mind.

I am Silver

2008-02-13T22:14:00.000-08:00

Silver is an outdoor wild cat which trusts us enough to come inside from time to time - our guess is that he is 17 years old, at least!
Koda is our fearless kitten that still takes chances when messing with Silver - he thinks that just because he can terrorize all of our dogs, except Bett, that he can take on another cat - WRONG! :)

At a local trapper's pad

2008-02-08T09:58:00.000-08:00

To quote our friend Chuchit, "...I feel like a stranger in paradise" - well, something like that :)
The picture is of the home of one of the many colourful characters that we have the pleasure of knowing in our area. This place is on the Fraser river where gold prospectors came through in the late eighteen hundreds.

Winter in the canyon

2008-02-08T07:18:00.000-08:00

A good freind of Norm & Nan, Chuchit, visited enroute from Florida to Bangkok and yesterday we took him to see the Fraser Canyon. This is quite a change in scene compared with the streets of Bangkok - change in temperature too :).
The Fraser canyon is a complete change of scene from Echo Valley Ranch as well and very rarely has as much snow as this year, it is basically desert type terrain with sage brush and cactus being the predominant plant - and to think that the canyon is just three miles (5 km) from the ranch!

EVR Winter office

2008-02-05T20:56:00.000-08:00

One of the guest dining table serves as a first class office desk during the winter months when Norm and Nan have the place to themselves - well, almost to themselves since as you can see the kitten takes up residence any place he wants! :)

Silver comes in from the cold

2008-01-31T14:04:00.000-08:00

Sliver is a Cariboo wild cat that has learned to trust us and every week or so turns up to be fed and on the rare occasion actually comes into the lodge. Today Silver came in and our kitten Koda decided to check him out, meaning grab at Silver's tail. Well, that resulted in lesson one from Silver (..abt 18 years old incidently!) - a swift boxing of the ears with claws kept in. All is well between them now that Koda knows who he was messing with :)

Interesting visitors

2008-01-31T11:08:00.000-08:00

Never a dull moment at Echo Valley Ranch.
Last night we had a very interesting visitor, Dan Johnson, a friend of Brian Davies, who joined us for dinner. Dan met Brian many years ago through their common interest in falconry.
Brian is living in a house that we have near by and Dan is living in Brian's house down on the river. Guess what, Dan trains Golden Eagles down on the river!!! Other than that he is a consultant specializing in placer mining. As you can imaging, all of this leads to interesting conversation at dinner time!
By the way, we finally got the tractor going.
....Nicolle is on her way to EVR today (..with Henry :) ).

Horses to feed at Echo Valley Ranch

2008-01-29T17:48:00.000-08:00

Temperature rose to -24C today - pine beetles are saved :(.
We fed horses the old fashion way today, the tractor would not start so we had to use pitch forks to move the hay from the barn to the horses. We have to place the hay in many separate piles to ensure all the horses get their fare share - we spread around just about half a ton of hay which should see them through the night.
Forgot to mention that Uny arrived last night to be with us until Friday. Uny's car is not equipped with a block heater so guess what, Uny might be here until the spring :).
Weather permitting, Nicolle will be coming up to EVR tomorrow. Brian hopes she makes it 'cos she is picking up boxes of frozen chicks for the falcons.
To be continued:

Temperature drop

2008-01-29T16:18:00.000-08:00

After many weeks of moderate temperatures, for winter time in this neck of the woods, the temperature dropped to -31C. We have not seen temperatures this low for coming on ten years! Now, if the temperature would drop to -40C, and holds there for ten days or more, the march of the pine beetle may be halted.

Full moon on a winters night

2008-01-21T18:29:00.000-08:00

Winter has its very own beauty. The light and colours you see in this photo are natural - we are so fortunate to be living in a place that is still pollution free!

Full moon at Echo Valley Ranch tonight

2008-01-21T18:26:00.000-08:00

The full moon has made its appearance and the light to be reflected off the snow tonight will make it look like day time with a very special aura

.....and they drink

2008-01-20T18:02:00.000-08:00

...as you saw, you can lead a horse to water but you do not have to make 'em drink; they decide to do that all by themselves :). After this picture was taken we became surrounded by horses all jockying for position to drink.

You can lead a horse to water....

2008-01-20T17:08:00.000-08:00

Nan is heading down the hill to the creek with Norm to make sure that there is an open spot, in the ice over the creek, for the horses to drink from. As you can see, you can indeed lead horses to water.....

Winter orchids at Echo Valley Ranch

2008-01-20T16:54:00.000-08:00

This photo shows an orchid in full bloom as well as new buds. The view out of the window is looking west.

January 20th - lots of snow

2008-01-20T10:51:00.000-08:00

Lots of snow at Echo Valley Ranch today, perfect for taking pictures, cross country skiing, snow shoeing or simply just being outdoors.

....the next morning

2008-01-20T10:46:00.000-08:00

As expected, all is bright the next morning at Echo Valley Ranch. You can tell from the shadow that this is a morning shot, sure looks different from the day before when the sky was full of snow.

Wintery day at Echo Valley Ranch

2008-01-19T19:20:00.000-08:00

How's this for a wintery day at Echo Valley Ranch?
It is still beautiful to be outside though especially since the temperature is a balmy -1C
Can't wait to see what the morning brings :)

Orchids at Echo Valley Ranch?

2008-01-19T11:37:00.000-08:00

Nan has super green thumbs when it comes to growing plants of any type, including orchids. The photo shows new buds on an old orchid plant that Nan has nurtured for several years, it blooms twice every year and the blooms last up to six months.
If anybody would like to know more about taking care of orchids, just ask Nan - we have time to spare right now at Echo Valley Ranch & Spa :)

Photo taken on January 15th

2008-01-19T09:38:00.000-08:00

Nan took this photo on January 15th showing how beautiful everything looks after a fresh snow fall.
It is snowing again today and from the looks of the sky we are in for several inches. We are looking forward to heading off down to the creek to make sure the horses can get to the water and looking for fresh tracks in the snow - we are sharing space with many other beings that most times choose to keep them selves to them selves.

...a stroll across the creek

2008-01-13T17:28:00.000-08:00

A nice walk to take is to cross the creek and walk across the top of the hay field on the other side. Looking back at the ranch facilities it looks like a small village! The tempersature today was +5.5C and at 4:00PM the light made everything in the sun glow. The ranch is on the south bank, note how much warmer it is there and how the snow has melted off in spots.

Hay burners!

2008-01-13T15:07:00.000-08:00

For those of you who would like to know, a horse eats in the order of 25 lbs of hay every day, plus grain, minerals and "treats". That means every day our 32 horses eat 800 lb/day of hay, which is over 12 tons per month. It is not going to get any better, we are planning on buying eight more horses!

...closing the gate

2008-01-13T14:57:00.000-08:00

This is what is known as closing the gate before the horses get out.
Dirk has just passed through with the tractor carrying another bale of hay -- lots of bellies to feed at Echo Valley Ranch!

January 13 -- Sunrise at EVR

2008-01-13T08:50:00.000-08:00

The previous picture is of the view looking east showing the effect of the sun setting in the west. This picture is the view looking east showing the sun rising over the same mountain, Mount Bowman.
Now how's that for proof that east meets west at Echo Valley Ranch & Spa :)
The temperature the past few days has been over zero centigrade; this morning has started out at +2.2C

Jan 12 - Sunset at Echo Valley Ranch

2008-01-12T17:28:00.000-08:00

This picture is taken looking towards the east with the sun setting in the west reflecting beautiful colours from off the clouds back towards Mount Bowman. The sky is constantly changing and painting pictures to marvel at.
Jack is in the foreground heading towards the frozen trout ponds - knowing that is where we are heading.
Nan and Norm are alone at Echo Valley Ranch right now; being in a remote wilderness setting with no other human around is a very special feeling that is hard to describe - it is very least blissful

Eggs anybody?

2008-01-12T13:52:00.000-08:00

Here is one wing of the outdoor section of the chicken residence, the indoor section is in the background. If you eat chicken eggs there is nothing better than having one that was laid the same morning that you ate it. Tough to do that in the city - par for the course at Echo Valley Ranch & Spa, even in the winter.

January 11 - Chance meets Silver

2008-01-11T19:13:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago Echo Valley Ranch became the home of a new resident kitten named "Chance".
The kitten was named Chance because, well, he takes chances - he is absolutely fearless and terrorises our dogs - he has taken over the Dove lodge!!
Today Chance was introduced to Silver. Silver is a 16 year old semi tamed down wild cat that lives outdoors, visiting with us only when hungry. We let Silver inside the lodge today, Chance ran over to greet him and this is their eyeball to eyeball encounter.
Both survived :)

Venison for dinner tonight

2008-01-11T15:27:00.000-08:00

Nan and Brian putting the finishing touches to the venison roasts before popping them in the oven. If you are wondering where chef Kim is, he is on vacation through to the end of March - we can only get away with this during the time that Echo Valley Ranch & Spa is closed down during the winter months :)

Preparing dinner

2008-01-11T15:17:00.000-08:00

Falconer Brian is showing Nan and Norm how to prepare the front quarter of a deer for the oven. Roast venison will be on the menu for dinner tonight - the EVR winter crew do not go hungry :)

January 11 - Another beautiful dat at Echo Valley Ranch

2008-01-11T14:58:00.000-08:00

Another wonderful day to walk around this beautiful place tucked away in the Cariboo

Jan 10 - Nan off shopping

2008-01-11T14:50:00.000-08:00

Nan is off to the ranch winter food store house - behind the barn door :)

Life at Echo Valley Ranch and Spa during the "closed" season

2008-01-09T15:30:00.000-08:00

Echo Valley Ranch and Spa is open to guests between end of March and the beginning of November, and two weeks over the Christmas/New Years holiday period.
From January 6th to April 1st 2008 we are closed to guests but never the less there is a lot going on at Echo Valley Ranch and Spa!
There are still lots of mouths to be fed, we have horses, steers, dogs, cats, chickens, turkeys, rabbits and falcons to take care of. This blog will provide those that are interested with visuals and comments, starting in what is now our winter time, of life at Echo Valley Ranch.

Dove Lodge lit up for Christmas

2008-01-09T15:25:00.000-08:00

New Year's dinner

2008-01-09T15:19:00.000-08:00

Guess where this is

2008-01-09T15:16:00.000-08:00

RCMP "drop in" for a visit

2008-01-09T15:12:00.000-08:00

Horseback riding in the snow

2008-01-09T15:10:00.000-08:00

Sled ride

2008-01-09T15:05:00.000-08:00

Lots of activities over the Christmas holidays at Echo Valley Ranch

Christmas dinner soon to be served at Echo Valley Ranch

2008-01-09T15:00:00.000-08:00

Christmas carols around the fire at Echo Valley Ranch & Spa

2008-01-09T14:53:00.000-08:00

Ice fishing catch for dinner tonight

2008-01-09T00:16:00.000-08:00

Bett's pups

2008-01-08T23:38:00.000-08:00

On January 7th Bett, Jack's mail order bride from Wales, gave birth to six healthy border collie pups.